DL:NY
by BigElephantsAndUnicorns
Summary: No crime lab? No team? What if Lindsay hadn’t been in such a rush to leave Montana? What if Danny had stuck to his first love of baseball? Totally AU, light hearted DL fun. :


"Hey Debs."

"Hey…usual?"

"You know me!"

"I sure do," she winked at him as she turned to make his extra frothy latte. "So, how was your weekend Messer?"

"Not as good as if I'd been out with you Saturday night," he grinned at the coffee shop owner.

"Now come on Danny, you know I'm not that kinda girl!"

"What makes you say I'm that type of boy?"

"Oh, just half the female customers I have in here, that's all."

"Ah, you just don't know what you missing."

"Unfortunately I don't."

"A-ha… do I sense a bit of regret there?" Danny teased. "Anyway, se you tomorrow Debs, have a good one," he smiled as his coffee was handed to him.

Before he heard her response he started to turn around, but not looking where he was going he clumsily walked into the only person queuing behind him. He immediately began to step back, but not before he had spilt half his latte over himself and the petite women in question.

"Oh woah, Im so sorry. Damn, it's all on you're clothes! "

The said women was obviously not impressed by him, or by his attempts at wiping down her shirt with a paper napkin quickly grabbed from the counter.

"It's okay, I'll take it from here," she said politely smiling, as Danny jumped back embarrassed as he realized what he had just been doing. "I was in my own little dream world too," she continued, "should have been watching better."

"No, totally my fault. Let me buy you ya drink, say sorry?"

"No it's okay, I'm in a bit of a rush," she replied trying to squeeze past him to the counter.

"Good, them I'm helping you out. I got a tab here, it'll be quicker," he smiled, and turned back to talk to Debs before the lady could protest any more.

"Hey Debs, get this woman whatever she wants, it's on me." With that he leant against the counter with his elbow, smiling with pleading eyes back at the woman. His smile widened when after a moment's hesitation the woman walked up to the counter and gave him a brief smile before turning to Debs and saying, "Just a coffee please."

"Absolutely, what type?"

"Type?"

"Sure…latte, cappuccino, espresso, mocha, Americano, double shot, decaf, you're choice!"

"Erm, just a…just a…"

Danny could tell she was flustered and a bit out of her depths. "Hey Debs," he interrupted, causing both women to look at him, "Give her a medium latte".

As Debs turned around to make the coffee, Danny continued to talk to the woman. "Sorry, looked like you could do with a bit of help."

"Yeah thanks…not quite used to all that."

"Not from around here are ya?"

"No, Montana actually…at home it's just 'coffee…black or white?'"

"Ah…Montana… so_ really_ not from around here!"

"No, really not!" she laughed.

"Danny, by the way", he said by way of introducing himself, holding out his hand for her to shake, which she tentatively met with her own.

"Lindsay, nice to meet you, well sort of," she added laughing as she looked back down at her stained shirt.

"Oh yeah, I'm sorry, not my finest moment."

They both laughed before silence fell again.

"So, what are you in a rush for then?" Danny inquired.

"Oh yeah," she glanced at her watch, having totally forgotten herself. "A job interview at Roberto's in what, half an hour, and I've still got to work out how to get there…" she began to ramble as panic started to rise inside of her.

"Do you live close by?"

"No I'm staying with my Uncle in Queens. Why?"

"Well, that settles it", he said standing straight as Debs handed Lindsay the coffee. "Thanks Deb's."

"What? Settles what?"

"You're coming with me."

"What's that now?" she asked, slightly indignant at her cluelessness at what was going on and his seeming confidence. Usually she would just have walked away at this point, put something about him made her stay.

"Well, I'd like to see you make it to Queens and back before 11, or are you planning on wearing a coffee stained shirt to your interview?"

"Shi-, sorry…I hadn't even thought of that!"

"Look common, I live just upstairs, you can borrow a shirt off the girl next door, and hey…I'll even help you find your way to the interview. Deal?"

Lindsay looked suspiciously at him. "Why would you do that?"

"'Cause I'm the reason you got coffee all down ya and I'm honestly I nice bloke, well most of the time," he tried to joke but Lindsay didn't seem to find it funny. "Come on, nothing dodgy I promise, Debs here knows me," he indicated to the woman behind the counter who nodded in agreement, "and knows you're coming with me – I'm normal, I swear!"

"Well doesn't look like I have much of a choice does it?"

"Glad you see it that way too!"

With one last nod at Debs he called back over his shoulder as he led Lindsay to the door, "See you tonight then right Debs?" he asked only half jokingly.

"As always Messer, in your dreams!"

"Exactly", he winked as he opened the door and looked back at Lindsay who had her eyebrows raised questioningly.

"She'll give in one day," he joked as they both started down the street. And Lindsay couldn't help feel a twinge of jealousy against Debs for having caught this Danny's eye. _Sure he was cocky, but hell was he good looking!_

"So, what's a girl fresh in from Montana doin' getting a job waitressing at Roberto's?" Danny asked as they climbed the stairs to his apartment.

"Is that so unusual?"

"Well yeah, kinda is! You don't look like the person who's used to serving at a restaurant!"

"Am I that obvious?"

Danny raised his eyebrows and smiled as if to say 'well, yeah'. Now he looked, he could really tell she was a country girl. Sure she was cute with those loose curls sticking out from a pony tail and wearing a smart shirt and trousers you could tell she didn't wear very often, but not in the high maintenance, perfectly finished way of so many New Yorkers. He shook himself out of his reverie to listen to what she was saying.

"Well, I'm not. I work on my parent's ranch back home, I'm just down here for what was going to be a couple of weeks to look after my Uncle. But he's just taken a turn for the worse so I'm gonna stay. The thing is, he still insists he doesn't need my help so this is kind of a compromise. I earn a bit of cash but stick around, not being in his hair the whole time so he feels more independent."

"I'm sorry to hear 'bout your Uncle, but that's a good idea you got there. So, here we are," he said opening his door to his apartment.

Danny walked in first, gesturing with hands as he directed, "Bathroom you'll find over there, just take a seat in here," he said referring to the living room, "and grab anything you want from the kitchen. Hey, where…?" Danny had turned around to find the room empty. He headed back to the door, where he saw he waiting politely, shoes taken off and sitting on the mat.

"Hey, no need to stand on ceremony here Lindsay, come in sit down, I'll just go 'n get that shirt."

"Thanks for this."

"No probs," he said, sliding past her in the doorway, pushing her in gently by placing his hand in the small of her back.

Alone now in the apartment, she ventured passed the door he had indicted as the bathroom and was quickly in the lounge/kitchen. It was well furnished but basic…._definitely single_ she thought (and then she found herself wondering why she was so pleased by this thought).

She sat down in the large comfy brown sofa sipping her coffee, on which Danny had made an excellent choice she thought. She was the curious about this man and his apartment, but her manners told her better, so she stayed on the sofa and searched the apartment with her eyes not her hands.

She guessed Danny must be quite sporty from the amount of memorabilia, equipment (especially baseball) and trophies around the place. The furniture and decorations were very neutral in colour and relaxing. There were only a few pictures around. None were of him, but instead they were mostly of large groups of people smiling - some of kids, some what she assumed were of family. A few newspapers and files scattered the coffee table in front of her, behind which stood a wide screen TV.

The door shutting made her aware of Danny's return. As she turned around she saw him walking in with a triumphant look on his face.

"Ta – da," he said holding up a blue shirt. "Should fit, Kendall, my next door neighbor, looks about the same size as you."

"Thanks, that's perfect, bathroom in here did you say?" and she hurriedly left to change her shirt.

She returned minutes later in the shirt. At first she was worried it was too small for her, but from the momentary look she saw in Danny's eyes before he realised she could see him, she decided it was just tight enough.

"See, I told you it would fit," he said, shoving his phone in his pocket after sending a message as he waited. "Ready to go?" he asked, walking over to the door.

"Are you sure you don't mind showing me?" she asked, but in reality still enjoying is company, "you could just give me directions?"

"Definitely – I'm free, plus it's just around the corner."

Lindsay flashed a smile at him as she left the apartment first, and they left his building and walked down the street.

"Here y' are," he said as he rounded the corner, lifting his phone as he did as it beeped to indicate he had got a message.

"Great, and on time after all that! Thanks again!"

"No worries, good luck," he said, just quickly reading is message as he did so.

"So, how'd you think I'll do?"

Danny put his pone away in his pocket and looked up at Lindsay and with a huge smile said, "You'll be great, just go 'n show 'em". He looked at his watch and said, "okay, I better go now. Thanks for brightening my morning," he said.

"Right, back at ya," she said blushing slightly.

After an awkward moment's silence they said they're goodbyes and headed in their opposite directions – Danny back to the main street and Lindsay into the restaurant.

_Well, here goes nothing_, she thought.

* * *

An hour later and she was just about to leave the restaurant with a huge grin. She knew it was only a waitressing job but still…how often are you offered the job right there and then on the spot? She was in her own little pleased dream world when she felt an arm on her shoulder.

"Hey," said a tall, blonde, curly haired woman, "I'm Stella, I'm the waitress who's going to be training you."

"Oh hi, I'm Lindsay…great to meet you. Those are lovely flowers you have there" she replied enviously.

"Well, that's good - they're yours actually, they were left at the front desk."

"Really? Thanks," she said taking the flowers and smelling them.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," said Stella.

"Yeah great, see you then." With that, Lindsay left the restaurant and outside noticed a card hidden in the yellow ad orange flowers. With butterflies in her stomach she read it.

_Congratulations__,_

_Danny _

x

**Hey everyone, I'****ve had this written for a while now but have had 'technical difficulties' i.e. I crashed my computer! Which is also why I haven't got to reply to all the reviews for my last fic – so just want to say a HUGE thank you to you all! **

**So – I wasn't planning on writing anything for a while. But then I went on holiday**** and got an idea that bugged me until I started to write it down! Very different to my first story so I hope it works!_ R and R please?_ Do you like it? I'll carry on writing and posting more if people are interested! Thanks.**

**PS. I w****as just trying to write some more chapters and have realized if people want them then it would be great to talk to someone who knows a bit about baseball and how the whole system of how the game works (different levels, coaches etc). I'm not necessarily looking for an expert…it's just I know _nothing_ so any help would be fab!**


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